Olshansky was born on February 22, 1954. He attended
Michigan State University and was awarded a
B.S. in psychology in 1975. He then attended the
University of Chicago and was awarded a
M.S. in
sociology in 1982. He received his
Ph.D. in sociology at the
University of Chicago in 1984. His work on
biodemography has been funded by a Special Emphasis Research Career Award and an Independent Scientist Award from the
National Institute on Aging and a research grant from the U.S. Social Security Administration starting in 1991. Olshansky was the recipient of a 2005/2006 Senior
Fulbright Award to lecture in France. Olshansky has been a vocal supporter of scientific attempts to increase the human healthspan. He is an advocate for prolonging the
healthy life-span compared to increasing the
overall length of life as such. In an interview he advocated for further study of
calorie restriction, genetic study of humans
centenarians, and for further study on
life extension and
senescence. He is co-author with Bruce A Carnes of
The Quest for Immortality: Science at the Frontiers of Aging (Norton, 2001) and with Jim Kirkland and George Martin he co-edited "Aging: The Longevity Dividend", published in 2015. ==Lifespan Bet==